Improvement in windlasses



r. s. ROWLAND.

Windlass. 7.

N0. 160,617 te Marc'h 9.1875.

7 um venom" WITNESSES.

' I M44? w M y ATTIIBNEYS.

THE GRAPHIC C0.PHOTOrlITH-39&4'l RARK PLACE,N.Y.

UNITED STATES PATENT rrrcn.

FLETCHER s. ROWLAND, or OHAPLIN, KENTUCKY.

IMPROVEMENT m WINDLASSES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. [66.6 [7, dated March9, 1875; application filed August 10, 1874.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, FLETCHER S. ROWLAND, 0f Chaplin, in the county ofNelson and State of Kentucky, have invented a new and Improved HoistingApparatus, of which the following is a specification:

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 represents a top view of myimproved hoisting apparatus; Fig. 2, a detail top view of the Windlassand crank-connection and Fig. 3, a vertical transverse section of theapparatus on the line 0 c, Fig. 1. Fig. 4. is a vertical section of theclutch mechanism.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

The object of my invention is to furnish an improved Windlass orhoisting apparatus for raising and lowering weights, by which thedescent of the platform, bucket, or hook may be accomplished withgreater rapidity than the raising of the same, and kept under fullcontrol without giving the crank a reverse motion. My invention consistsof such an arrangement of the loose and sliding ratchetboX with theWindlass-shaft, and a separate crank shaft and clutch, that the Windlassis turned for hoisting in the usual manner, while, for lowering, theclutch-connection is released and the descent controlled by the brake.action of the ratchet-box.

In the drawing, A represents a Windlass roller or drum, which turns on ashaft, or, provided near its end with a fast collar, b, having cams orinclined teeth I). A ratchet-box, B, slides loosely on shaft a, and isacted upon by a pivoted pawl, B. Box B has an outer cylindrical sideflange, d, with recesses or notches al and is acted upon by a spiralspring, 6, placed on shaft on between Windlass A and ratchet-box B. Ithas also interior cams or inclined teeth f, set in opposite direction tothose of the fast collar 1), so as to interlock therewith when the teethd of a'cylindrical flanged collar or clutch, G, of crankshaft D enterthe recesses d of ratchet-box B, and turn the same on shaft a. Theflanged collar 0 incases the fast collar b of Windlassshaft, whose endis supported and rotated in a central socket-recess of collar D. Theturnin g of the crank-shaft in forward direction for hoisting the loadcauses the coupling of the outer flanged collar and the ratchet-box, andalso of the cams of the latter and those of the fast collar of theWindlass-shaft, so that the turning of the loose ratchet-box producesthe rotation of the Windlass, the winding up of the rope or chain, andraising of the load. The crank cannot fly back and endanger theoperator, as the pawl prevents the return motion of the ratchet.

For lowering the apparatus, the crank motion is slightly reversed, whichcauses the clutch O to rotate backward, and carries the teeth 61 out ofor partly out of the recesses d in boX B, the latter being preventedfrom rotating backward by means of the pawl B; but neither the shaft ofclutch 0 nor of drum A has endwise motion; hence the separation betweenthe parts B O, as represented in Flg. 2, is caused by the sliding of B-toward the drum A. This movement compresses the spring 0 and increasesthe friction on A, thus enabling it to brake the drum as the ropeunwinds and the bucket or other weight descends. The friction may befurther increased by carrying the crank-shaft still farther back, so asto throw thereby the ratchet-box against the side of the Windlass. Thusthe descent of the load, platform, hook, or bucket is fully within thecontrol of the operator, and may also be completely checked at anypoint, if desired. By turning the crank-shaft back into position forhoisting, the spiral spring carries the sliding ratchet-box back intoposition for coupling with the crank-clutch and the shaft-collar,forming thereby a very conveniently-operated labor-saving apparatus, asthe time consumed for lowering is considerably reduced.

Having thus described myinventiou, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Pat cut- The combination of Windlass A, sliding ratchet-boxB, pivoted pawl B, clutch O, and friction-spring e, for producing brakeaction of the ratchet-box on the drum or Windlass during descent ofplatform or other weight, as

described.

FLETCHER S. ROWLAND. Witnesses:

G. S. Rosn, R. M. STANLEY.

